Nayeon was checking the oil of the Datsun Bluebird (180D). Dahyun was in the office, managing upcoming orders as well as those already sold. It was necessary to make a precise inventory as well as update it as quickly as possible to allow the garage to constantly buy new pieces and cars.

The Datsun had a good level of oil and Nayeon was able to wipe her oily fingers against a cloth. She was wearing her usual blue outfit and her face was smudged with dirt. It was still early in the morning and yet she had worked hard.  

“Dahyun can you give me the key to-” But she soon noticed that the person who had just given her the spanner was neither Dahyun nor a customer. 

“Jihyo, were you so bored that you wanted to visit us?” Nayeon displayed a sincere smile. The policewoman was a long-time friend and rival. Nayeon had spent several nights incarcerated after being intercepted by Jihyo.

“I'm coming to the news, it's been a while since I've seen you drive.” Jihyo judged the Datsun with her eyes. Outside, her Dodge Charger R/T was sunbathing, the car was so clean that it was blinding. Those ing cops, Nayeon thought. She had come with the police car and her outfit indicated that she was doing her weekly round.

“Happy? It feels like holidays for you now.” Nayeon loved to tease Jihyo. It had become natural and yet it had started very badly between them. Jihyo was one of the few people who had seen Nayeon driving during her golden age. At the very beginning, when more money was needed to bring the garage up to standard, Nayeon would run through the streets of Tokyo to collect wads after wads. But it was a bygone era, it had been more than a year since she had driven for money.

“Yeah, it's boring now. I miss your face sometimes.” Jihyo joked before studying the place, as required. But Nayeon knew she wasn't going to push any further.

“Come by whenever you want, next time I'll make the coffee.”

“Yeah sure.”Jihyo began to walk around the Datsun. Indeed, Nayeon was an excellent mechanic. She had done well to settle in Tokyo, a city that dreamed of speed. She slipped her index finger against the hood before looking straight ahead, where the sky was clear. A beautiful day in short.

Nayeon came to join her, hands in her pockets. The sun dazzled her and reflected against the Dodge left in front of the garage.

“I've seen that Jeongyeon is doing quite well in legal races. It attracts people on the circuits anyway.”  Jihyo seemed to know almost everything in the capital. Nayeon laughed, impressed by the policewoman. She didn't lose the north.

“Yeah, she's doing fine. She's happy now, that's all that matters.” Yet, since Jeongyeon's departure, she had gone through some complicated times. Dahyun was doing well, but she couldn't order as much. The reputation of the garage had to be maintained, in an area like this, in the dirty district of Tokyo, it was the only means of survival. Jihyo ended up looking at Nayeon which kept watching the cars pass on the road.

“I really don't understand why when you came here in Tokyo, you chose to take a ruined garage and step aboard on such a business” It was not the first time Jihyo had asked this question and Nayeon had never answered it. In fact, it was Dahyun's wish and she had supported her in the idea. Moreover, Nayeon didn’t like having a boss and being controlled, it seemed to her to be a good deal.

“Next time, ask Dahyun directly.” Nayeon made the remark to her before earning a smile from the policewoman. For some very clear reason, she dared not question Dahyun.

“You know who her father is? If he knows she has a garage here, he would go crazy.” Jihyo said looking up at the sky before staring at the road. “I hope he never finds out.”

“We can only hope so. She escapes the cracks for now, but for how much longer.” Dahyun couldn’t hear them from the office, but the two women had lowered their voices.

“As long as I'm around, it should do it.” Added Jihyo as Nayeon frowned. They may have had a strange bond, born of a rousing rivalry, and yet she didn’t understand why it was so important to protect Dahyun.

“And why do you care so much about her?” But all she won was a pat on her shoulder. Jihyo offered her a little smile before getting into her Dodge. Her radio had sent a signal, she had to leave. 

Nayeon watched her go, hands in her pockets. What a beautiful ing day, she thought.

Once Jihyo was away from her eye sight, Nayeon went back to work. At the same time Dahyun left the office with some documents in her hands. She wore her glasses and her concentrated look gave her something much more mature. Nayeon had never been very good at dealing with paperwork unlike her partner.

“Look at this. This month we made it, you were right.” Dahyun circled with her pen the profit that was no different from the past month. “We can place the same number of orders, but spring is here we're going to have to do more.” The blonde was nervous, she knew that the season had just begun and that street racing was flourishing. Clients were going to pour in and they needed the equipment.

“We're going to get this delivery girl.” Nayeon said, taking the papers in between her hands. What interested her was the street racing line. It had to inflate at all costs. A smile was born on her lips, she was now determined.

“I was just thinking about her. We can go tonight, before her deliveries. It'll be easier to get a word with her like that.” Dahyun said in an almost innocent voice when Nayeon couldn’t wait any longer. She had doubted her friend's but was aware of her mistake. Maybe they had their savior right under their nose.

*****

The previous night was pure madness. Momo and Chaeyoung had been drinking since the beginning of the night at a party. There was no trace of Hyejeong and the two young women could ingest as many substances as possible without suffering great consequences. It was a perfectly ordinary weekend. Momo stood out in the crowd. There was no restraint in her dance movements, it caught the eye. She was an excellent dancer, she had the rhythm tattooed on her skin. On the other hand, Chaeyoung had a singular aura. She was seen as a rebel, we wanted to enter her world and learn more. The two women never went unnoticed.

The youngest of the two had already won a few numbers while flirting around, it was something almost too easy. She only need to bat her eyelashes and numbers were written against her arms, which were half-erased by the end of the night. She lost too many opportunities with those kind of mistakes.

Momo rarely gave her number. She was the type to flirt and laugh with a few women. Sometimes she seduced them when one of them really caught her eye, but she never came to the point of exchanging names. She accepted only the kisses, the one-night stands, but no relationship apart from the exception she had experienced with Hyejeong.

Besides, the night was going very well. Chaeyoung seemed to have found something to have fun with a few drinks while Momo had found a girl to spend the night with. With so much alcohol in her blood, she didn't care if it ended up at her place or the woman’s who was currently holding her hand. 

They set foot outside to start walking down the street when a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution speeded across the street, braking without a sound at the intersection not far from Momo's location. It was a beautiful car with an incredible color: spectral racing red. A unique color and mostly chosen for Range Rovers.

“Are you coming? I want you right now.” Persisted the woman while drawing Momo towards herself. She was also drunk. However, the delivery driver had her eyes on the Mitsubishi. 

“I am the show, stop looking away! It's just a stupid car, have you never seen one or what? »

But Momo couldn’t deny the curiosity growing inside her chest. Just behind, two other cars had just positioned themselves on either side of the Mitsubishi. Men trying to hit on what was supposed to be a woman. Meanwhile Momo found a way to get away from the woman’s grip.

“I just want to see something, wait a minute.” She began to walk towards the crossroads, almost ready to take her Subaru to help the distressed young woman. She still couldn't see her face, she was too far away. On the other hand, she could see the faces of the idiots who were trying to hit on her. They had lowered their windows in an attempt to engage in a dialogue with the girl.

Before Momo decided to look for the keys to go get and drive her Subaru (which was going to be very difficult according to her condition), she heard the Mitsubishi's engine rumbling. The latter had accelerated once the light became green and what made this moment incredible was that she didn’t run away. 

She had taken the other two vehicles by surprise in the empty intersection in the middle of the night. She drew circles around the men honking their horns. Momo was confused. The Mitsubishi precisely steered her car on the road, gained speed before proceeding on a perfect drift. 

The other two cars thought this was a signal and did let go of the brakes to accelerate. They began to chase the Mitsubishi which offered a real show for Momo's eyes.

“What are you waiting for?!”

“Shut up!” Momo had pushed the woman that came back by grabbing her arm. It was a dangerous game, but the fluidity of what was supposed to be a woman behind the wheel prevented Momo from thinking about the worst. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution made a sudden turn while driving towards one of the cars and narrowly avoided it. This maneuver caused the following event: Both cars lost control and ran straight against each other. The collision caused a noise so loud that Momo pulled back by instinct. The Mitsubishi made one last drift to tease the bunch of idiots before biting the asphalt to drive away.

Momo was totally conquered.

The next day had been complicated. She remembered falling asleep before she could even kiss the woman she was supposed to share the night with. The only thing she remembered was that she had left her car almost two kilometers away. She had to take the bus and find her vehicle to go back home again. A waste of energy. It pissed her off.

*****

Since they had to find a plan B if the delivery woman refused to be part of their team, they had no choice but to continue training in the unoccupied warehouses. 

“Before you go, look at everything in your line of vision. It's going to give you a better instinct on the field.” After understanding that the communication radios were working well, Nayeon lowered the tone of her voice to the relief of her teammate. The Skyline r34 was great, but they absolutely had to find another car just as capable of drifting. The delivery driver was not the only plan B to plan.

“Shorten your third curve, you're going to save precious seconds. There are no obstacles behind so you are pretty safe.” Nayeon observed Dahyun's return, slowing down as she got closer to the mechanic.

The sky was blue, it was beautiful and almost as hot as in summer. The two young women had taken two deckchairs to enjoy the sun once the training was over, but this was just the beginning. 

Dahyun came out of the Skyline, took off her helmet before sighing. She had her wrists on fire from playing with the speeds and the handbrake. She approached Nayeon who handed her a can of Coke before drinking it at one go.

“It's already better than the first round. If you let the Skyline go in the drifts, the acceleration will be faster after the wide curves and you won’t feel the tremors anymore.” Nayeon had also opened a can that felt fresh against her sweaty hand. The garage was closed for the afternoon, they did not have a scheduled appointment and given what they earned during the races they couldn’t afford to neglect their technique.

"I'm just afraid it's smoking too fast and ending up using its last resources too much." Said Dahyun pointing to the wheels of the car. But Nayeon was already shaking her face negatively as she lowered herself to press her index finger against one of the hot wheels.

“Not with this brand, it holds well five minutes of intense drift.” As proof, she slipped her finger against the still well-defined gum of the wheel. It could easily go for one or two more races like that one. Dahyun, who knew absolutely everything in the garage, had not yet been able to experience this novelty.

“If we sell this...” A smile spread from ear to ear before she came to clap Nayeon's hand, as if they had just found a gold mine. They hadn’t noticed yet that a car had just entered the depot.

But then, from the corner of her eye Nayeon finally spotted a familiar car getting closer. Soon she could hear the engine purring. The white color stained with green and red, betrayed the origin of the vehicle. It was a circuit car and the only person able to show up in such a place with a legal vehicle could only be Jeongyeon.

Jeongyeon parked her Porsche 911 GT3 RS next to the Skyline and exited half way out of the vehicle with a grin at the corner of her lips. She wore a cap of the same brand from her racing club and was chewing a gum. Nayeon wanted to hate her for such a betrayal but she was so proud of her former partner.

“So we're having fun using the brakes.” Those were Jeongyeon’s first words. She slammed the door of her Porsche behind her and walked near her friends. It was a light vehicle that didn’t lose speed in the famous curves of the circuits.

“At least we have more fun around here.” Nayeon threw a can of Coke at Jeongyeon, which was much taller than the two teammates. Dahyun was just as happy to see Jeongyeon hang around. Together, they had experienced crazy nights, all three of them, in the craziest areas of Tokyo. They had even gone further by crisscrossing the races across the island, driving from Hokkaido to the north: Kagoshima.

“I can leave if you don't want to see my face, old hag!" But Jeongyeon won a light punch from the mechanic.

“Shut up and hydrate! What are you doing around here?” Nayeon sat on the deckchair, legs crossed while looking up at her friend.

“There was no one in the garage and seeing that the Skyline was missing, I didn't think any further and I came here.” With her elbow pressed against the high table, she sipped her Coke as Dahyun circled the Porsche.

“Can I try it? It's for science.” No sooner said than done Jeongyeon tossed the keys for her friend to catch. Dahyun clumsily captured the keys against her belly before thanking Jeongyeon with a smile as bright as the sun. She threw her against the hood of the car, sliding like a pro under the amused gaze of the two older ones and got behind the wheel.

“I'm happy to see her like that. She works hard, she's always given everything to run the garage.” Added Jeongyeon under the gaze of Nayeon, who simply shrugged.

“And with everything you say, doesn't that make you want to come back?” She offered her most innocent smile before drinking another shot. “We have some problems, but nothing too serious. The usual business risks.

“It makes me feel better to be gone, you know.” Jeongyeon was suddenly serious and was watching the bottom of her almost empty can. Nayeon knew her reasons and never thought of making excuses to keep her longer. She loved her too much to dare to force her hand.

“You seem happy anyway. And look! You've got a ing Porsche. How much did it cost you?” Speaking of Porsche, its engine could be heard from the docks while Dahyun tested its acceleration. Her cries of exhilaration reached their ears. Jeongyeon laughed while shaking her face before sighing. It felt good to be around her friends.

“It was a gift from the club and in return I have to make podiums. All thanks goes to you.”

“Don't be silly. I didn't infuse talent at your fingertips Jeong. Before we even met, you liked to drive, you knew how to drive, you were predestined.” Nayeon raised her arm to pat the thigh of her daydreaming friend. In her mind, nothing was due to her, only work and outstretched hands had helped to get there.

“I wouldn't have done it alone.” After getting lost in her thoughts, she looked down at Nayeon, who showed off her best bunny smile. A sense of comfort spread through her body, spinning through the rest of her limbs to relax her tensed shoulders. Nayeon had never stopped encouraging her and Dahyun, sometimes Jeongyeon would have wanted to save Nayeon before she gave up on racing. But the reasons that made the mechanic stop had to stay buried inside and hopefully: forever.

“You had the best team after all.” As she lifted her foot off the sun lounger, Nayeon gave her former partner a kick before getting up. “Come on, test the Skyline a little bit. We changed the front wheel system for drifts. It is lighter as well.” She said, opening the car door that had accompanied them for two long years on street racing. Jeongyeon hesitated for a moment before going in, Nayeon closing the door right behind. She walked around to pat the spoiler before letting her former colleague go.

No one could resist the Skyline.

Jeongyeon had returned home a little before the duo. Dahyun kept talking about the Porsche, the tractions, the acceleration, its adherence to the road and the defaults. There were still stars in her eyes, her gestures were wide and she had almost hit Nayeon holding the steering wheel while driving the Skyline through Tokyo.

They’ve been thinking about making a stop at the McDonald’s but the best idea was to eat at the sushi restaurant: Hirai's house. Nayeon had been hard to convince but Dahyun persuaded her that this was the best way not to miss the sushi delivery girl. She wasn't wrong, they had to be strategic.

After applying each traffic regulations on the road, Nayeon parked in front of the restaurant. From experience, Dahyun understood that the delivery woman was only active at night. They pushed the door together to fall into a small restaurant with traditional decoration, it was very pretty. They seemed to have left Tokyo to meet in Kyoto. There were many paintings that paid tribute to this city. The man behind the stoves seemed humble, skillful with his hands while a few tables were already taken.

“Good evening. We would like a table to eat, is it possible?” The cook, who was certainly to be Mr. Hirai, offered them a warm smile. He stretched out his arm to show a small empty table that gave a global view of the small restaurant. They walked between the narrow settings of the room to take their seats when a young boy came to give them a menu. After bending over, he slipped away to prepare the remaining tables.

The smell of fish was good, it smelled good food. Both women were hungry, but they couldn’t order too much. They might regret the price after swallowing only half of it.

“Are you Korean?” Asked the cook. He was close enough to have a friendly conversation. Nayeon remained silent to observe him but Dahyun couldn’t miss an opportunity to sympathize.

“Seongnam.” She pointed to herself before looking at Nayeon. “And Seoul.” She said as Nayeon confirmed that her memory was good.

“Welcome young ladies. But by your accent, you don't seem to be on vacation.”

“Good guess! We live in the area, yes.” Dahyun seemed to be having a great day. Nayeon have been thinking all day about the driver while Jihyo and Jeongyeon's visit had created a nostalgic feeling in her stomach. Everything was going so fast, everything had changed, everything was taking a new direction and yet she and Dahyun hadn’t moved an inch. The world had only shifted around them.

 “I can hear it, you use local words.” He said while cutting the perfectly cleaned fish. In the meantime the waiter came back to set up the table.

“What do you like about Tokyo?” He seemed talkative and to know all about his clients. Perhaps it was the job that made discussion mandatory. But also the small size that forced the dialogue.

“Everything. Lights, shops, ca-” But Nayeon cut it clean to order the sushi and sashimi that had been making her salivate for a while. Dahyun did the same and the conversation cut short.

The food was served quickly and for the first time Nayeon smiled at the cook. She was a little tired while Dahyun was full of energy. She ingested the sushi slowly and it had to be said: they were delicious. 

They could enjoy the quiet while Momo showed up at the restaurant. Maybe it was still too early.

*****

Momo had retrieved the Subaru and then drove back home to sleep. Whether it was a good or bad weather, the important thing was to recover from the previous night. 

Once she was up, just before it was time to go to work, she noticed countless messages on her phone. There were only one or two from Hyejeong, but the rest seemed to come from unknown numbers, all of which offered a frenzied night.

“What's all this about...” She did not remember giving her number to anyone. It was impossible and Chaeyoung wouldn’t have dared to play her a bad trick. It was by stumbling upon a particular message that she understood her mistake the day before.

16:05

I found your number, you can thank one of your friends who gave it to me. You left me alone last night, it's your turn to pay, xoxo.

Momo was already feeling a migraine hitting her right on the face. She didn't want to waste time and blocked all the numbers that had sent her messages. Normally she might have looked at the faces, accepted something, but given the source of this it was out of the question.

“Never again...” Her phone bounced against the mattress and fell to the ground in a thud.

She showered, prepared herself, took the time to take care of her appearance. 

Momo was beautiful. Despite her striking resemblance to her father, she inherited those sharp lines that gave her personality something strong and irresistible.  

Her body was relatively well built despite her thin hips. Everything was shaped so that mortal beings would stop and look. A femme fatale, a Japanese woman with exotic but strong curves. 

Momo knew it, it was a blessing but also a curse. Her foolish spirit brought her a lot of trouble with women through the years.

Once outside, the keys of her car in hand, she began to drive towards the city. It didn't take long for her to reach the restaurant and feel something sway (in a very bad way) her heart. A black Skyline r34 was parked in front of the restaurant. There was no doubt, it had to be those girls from last time.

She slowed down, put the car in the private spot and left the vehicle. A bad feeling was crushing her tight, too tight. 

When she pushed the front door, her father greeted her with a huge smile. 

“I hope you had a good day.”

“Hm-hm.”

Momo had noticed Nayeon and Dahyun watching her from the corner of the room. They wanted something from her, there was no mistake. She exhaled strongly through her nose before looking at her father.

“Do we already have orders for tonight?”

“You can ask Samuel, it seems to me that we already have four or five.” He said, waving his hand toward the hallway that kept a private door for the staff. To reach it, Momo had to pass the owners of the Skyline who had looked away. They seemed to have finished their meal.

Momo quickly walked into the back room to join a stressed Samuel with the number of orders. They weren’t yet numerous but full. He didn't want to forget anything.

“The 3 rd and 4th commands are huge. I put it all in two bags. There's the numbers on it.” He glanced at the time written on his phone before looking at Momo with a confused look. “You don't eat before? You're a little early.” He had calmed down in the presence of the older one. She took a deep breath and leaned against one of the freezers.

“I have a migraine, but I'm going to be fine.”

Without saying a word, she took all the bags in her hands. She offered Samuel a brief smile as she had to cross the restaurant in the opposite direction. Before pushing the door with her foot she took a moment to calm down, then began to walk to leave the place without looking back.

It was the best way to ignore the two young women.

She began to walk quickly to reach her Subaru, but as she had feared, she was followed.

“Hey, I don't want to race against you okay?” She said without turning around while placing the orders in the trunk. There wasn't much space because of some equipment that both Dahyun and Nayeon understood to be: illegal.

“We don't want to race against you.” Nayeon was the first to speak, her voice was much louder than if she had been talking to a friend. Right now, she had to impress with her character. “My name is Nayeon, I came with my partner. We have a garage and we wanted to talk to you.” Momo had meanwhile closed the trunk and walked around to open the driver's side door. After sighing, she finally met the gaze of the one who had just spoken to her.

Nayeon was nothing threatening apart from her confident words. Momo judged her from head to toe before slipping a cigarette between her lips.

“So talk?” Suddenly interested, she took the time to listen to those girls.

“We've seen you drive, me several times. And we're interested in your talent.” Dahyun was warmer than her partner and her smile put Momo a little less on the defense mode. But she still was confused and kept waiting for a sequel. “We're looking for someone like you to work with us.” Dahyun took a step forward and Momo looked down on her feet as if to warn her not to approach.

“So what? I'm not a mechanic.”

“We need you to ride for us at street races. You've proven your talent and frankly, it would be a shame not to take advantage of it.” Apparently no one was afraid to address the issue of illegal racing in the city. Momo could simply sell them to the police, but given the woman's confidence within her, it mustn’t be so simple.

“I didn't prove anything. I have nothing to prove. I'm just a delivery girl and I have to work.” She threw her cigarette away, crushed it to the ground, and pretended to get inside the car.

“You'll get paid. The equipment for your car will be free.” Nayeon's voice prompted a reconsideration about this issue. Momo pressed her forehead against the steering wheel, tapping the horn unintentionally. Samuel walked out the door of the restaurant to check if everything was okay, but sneaked back inside after acknowledging the situation. Dahyun held back her laughter avoiding eye contact with the delivery girl. 

“I'm not interested.” Momo said it loud enough after having that moment of embarrassment and shut the door. However, she lowered the window of the roaring car, it was almost threatening. But when she saw Nayeon with a smile on her face, she felt almost weak.

“Take this, we never know.” Nayeon dragged a piece of paper into Momo's hand, looking straight into her eyes. A moment of silence set in between the two young women before the Subaru speeded up to start deliveries.

Once gone, Dahyun couldn’t hold her laugh anymore. Nayeon grabbed her shoulder so that they would leave as soon as possible, begging her friend to calm down.

“Tell me it didn't make you laugh!”  At the same time, Nayeon let a grin take possession of her lips.

After her service, Momo went back to the restaurant. 

This time no car had chased her and she hadn’t felt the need to make a detour. Tired, she parked the car, left the vehicle without looking where she was heading because she knew the way between the park slot and the door by heart. 

But as she put her hand against the door, she felt a sharp object cut her hand.

It was a return to the shattering reality. She looked up at the glass door and saw with horror that everything had been broken. She swallowed her saliva, felt her heart stop and walked inside in a hurry.

She had to find her father.

“Dad?!” She didn't have to search more. There he was, alive, sitting at a table. He seemed to be fine on the surface. Momo rushed to his side, put her hand against his back to comfort him before taking a look at the damaged restaurant. Aside the door, almost nothing had been broken. Only the cash register had been vandalized.

“They took the money from the cash register and went upstairs.” Her father's voice remained honorable, but what raged Momo was that the burglars went upstairs, where her father was now living. “They took everything. Our saving.”

“Where is Samuel?” Momo tried to stay calm by reassuringly rubbing her father's back. At least he was fine, but a wrath was tearing her apart. 

“Back home, long before it happened. Don't worry.” Her father had laid his big hand against his daughter's. He was a strong man, almost impossible to demolish. He had always been a source of motivation for his daughter, who had seen him get lost in the not-so-distant past. But she kept faith and saw him get back on his feet.

“We're going to fix this, I promise.” She took her father by the shoulders to hug him and closed her eyes.

She was already reconsidering her encounter with Nayeon and Dahyun.

A/N : I'm already back, I'm so HAPPY you love it. Keep on with the comments, it's my fuel! & soon, we'll get into the real race against their past and real motivations!